Patna, Aug 26 (IANS): The Congress in Bihar on Wednesday said it has withdrawn the suspension of Shakeel Ahmad, a prominent Muslim face of the party. The development comes amid the party's preparation for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

Madan Mohan Jha, the president of Congress' Bihar unit, confirmed the development. "After his return, the party will get more strength in Bihar," he said.

Ahmad was suspended from the primary membership of the party in 2019 after he contested the parliamentary election as an Independent candidate from Bihar's Madhubani seat as he was denied a ticket by the Congress.

The Congress is part of Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) in Bihar and as per the seat sharing formula, Vikassheel Insaan Party led by Mukesh Sahani was given the Madhubani constituency. Following that, Ahmad filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from the seat. He, however, lost the election to BJP's Ashok Yadav.

Ahmad is a prominent Muslim face in his home state of Bihar and his return to the Congress may boost the party's prospects of drawing the votes of the minority community.

As per the Election Commission data, Bihar has a total of 7,21,40,945 voters of which 17 per cent are Muslim.

The Grand Alliance is aiming to fill all possible gaps in a bid to prevent any advantage to parties contesting the assembly polls under the umbrella of National Democratic Alliance.

The alliance is working on the strategy of MY (Muslim-Yadav) and BB (Bhumihar-Brahmin) formula.